Live By Honor, Kill By Stealth BOSA
by Taffy-Chan93
Summary: The Azuma Clan has begun their dawn from the horizon with a new generation of shinobi. Each beginning their own chapter as orphans, but will soon rise from the depths of darkness to become true ninjas.  4/10 Chapters Completed
1. Tatsukichi Chronicles

Live by Honor, Kill by Stealth (Birth of Stealth Assassins)

Scroll 1: Tatsukichi Chronicles

_The Night Sky. Partly Cloudy. Frogs Croaking. Crickets Cheeping_.

"How can I ever forget the night when I lost my father? How can I ever prevent my father's death from happening? Why that shinobi did attack my father in the first place? The thought of it just aggravates me to only think of such silly questions. But to me, I thought of it personally. I was sleeping in the middle of the night when it happened, and ever since that event, the fate of my future changed…"

.:::3rd Person POV:::.

Above the hills, a middle-age man stood a few feet away from the village that was in neighbor with the House of Gohda. He wore a black ninja suit with a mask over his mouth so his identity will not be revealed. He was focused on the mission that he was assigned from his Master; to kill a drug dealer that has been causing trouble for the innocent villagers. The mysterious figure stealth his way towards the entrance, discreetly keeping him out of sight by hiding in the shadows so no one can see him.

Peeking inside the crack of the wooden door, the figure spotted a man with black long hair tied in a very loose tail, wearing his dark blue yakama and white socks. Everyone else was sleeping, but the stranger expected his target would be awake.

The intruder slid the door slowly so it would not make any sudden sound, sneaking in the house. A candle was lit up in front of the man that was just sitting there, but since the back was facing him, he was not sure what kind of activity he was attending to at this time of night. It did not matter anyway; the mission was to kill him.

Kneeling down, the masked man crawled his way towards his prey like a predator ready to strike. As soon as he advanced towards the man to reach a few more inches, he finally draws out his katana, Izayoi, and prepared to finish him with one blow.

Before the intruder could, he noticed the victim forming a slight smirk as he raised his blade. The victim must know that he was behind him…!

The black-haired man turned around and blocked the intruder's attack with his own katana, asking, "What are you doing here?" The intruder noticed his victim's onyx eyes were glancing at the entrance of the corridor. He must be worried about something from the back of his mind. The attacker disdains his wandering thoughts and pushed the blade to his opponent, adding more force gradually without giving a reply. He didn't need one anyway since it wasn't the attacker's priority to start a conversation. He was only assigned here to kill him and nothing more. The victim pushed the blade away, making the attacker raise his blade from the sudden force and position a defense mode.

.:::Tatsukichi's POV:::.

I was in my room, sleeping peacefully in bed until I heard the clashing noise of two katanas. I shot off of my bed from hearing the noise, wondering what was going on. Rushing out of the room, I looked down the corridor and notice a dim light from a candle lit from the main room, noticing two shadows lurking from it. I tip-toed my way to the door so my head can peek out from it. Who came into the house? Why is this stranger attacking my father? I observed the situation and noticed my dad was looking at me with the corner of his eyes. They look as if he was assuring me that everything is going to be okay, but half of me knew that he was lying…

He slowly stood up with his short bangs covering his eyes and continued, "I'm warning you to get out of my house. Now-!" Before he could say anymore, the attacker took no hesitation to rush in and stab his stomach. His eyes widen with shock, coughing blood out of his mouth after shaking for a moment.

As soon as the man pulled away his sword, my father's body fell on his back with red blood oozing out of his wound. "F-Father…" I muttered, biting my lips as I felt tears coming out of my eyes. I was only 5 years old during this time. Why that man did kill my father? The only family member that I had left!

Walking out of the doorway to reveal myself to the stranger, my body shook not by fear, but by anger. Clenching my fist, I screamed out from the top of my lungs, picking up the katana my dad used and run towards the stranger. Only one word came out of my mind:

_Revenge._

.:::Shiunsai's POV:::.

As I noticed a small young boy running towards me, I draw out my sword defensively before he could swung an attack on me. I kept on blocking every throw the boy gave me, noticing how strong it was. I was actually shocked when I first saw him; I didn't know that the man I killed had a son.

I almost felt pity for the boy, not only because that I killed his father, but also because he has no one to supervise him. I can tell from the look in his eyes; Hatred, Vengeance, Melancholy, Loneliness…

Every blow he threw at my sword gradually becoming weaker and weaker, considering the fact that the boy was becoming exhausted, but he never stopped. I got to admit that he had a good stamina to keep it up, but not for long. I only waited for the boy's attack to become limited so I could start talking some sense into him. His blows finally slowed down and turn into a complete stop…

.:::Tatsukichi POV:::.

I continued throwing blows at the man who attacked my father, but the slower I become, the more I realized that attacking this man for vengeance was not working…As I stopped myself from delivering anymore, I stood in place, lowering my father's katana and panted heavily with my shoulders raising up, then down repeatedly. I heard the man sheathe his own katana back. After a moment of silence, I felt the stranger's hand clasp on my shoulder, quickly reacting as if he was going to attack me by taking two steps backward.

I glanced up at him with suspicion as he begins to talk, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you…"

His tone sound reassuring, but I didn't believe him…

So I protested, "But you killed my father! Why should I believe on what you say?"

He chuckled slightly and replied in a calm voice, "It's my duty to not harm the innocent-"After hearing such nonsense, I repeated, "YOU killed my father! What did he do to deserve this?" The man stayed silent for a while, as if he didn't want to reply for a logical reason. I calmed down a bit as I thought about it twice; his current actions make himself appear to be a normal person just like everyone else.

Even though I still didn't trust him, something in the back of my mind said that I should…I'm not really the type of person to judge a book by its cover, but what occurred just moments ago made me. It was like waking up from a nightmare or something, but I already knew that this was reality, and I should face it. Even if it was hard for me to move forward, I guess it shouldn't be that bad.

I remembered my father told me about this, and it was a good thing that I listened. Where would I be if I didn't?

Well…dead, of course.

I looked up at the man with curiosity, still waiting for the answer to my question. He acknowledged me calming down with a small smile, followed by a nod. Resuming to his impassive state, the man replied "Your father was an illegal drug dealer. He harmed many innocent people in his business, so I was assigned by Lord Gohda to stop him."

I listened intently, not knowing the fact that my father was actually doing such things like that. I've noticed that he has been acting suspicious lately, but it was still troubling me.

"Why didn't you try talking him out of it?" I asked the stranger.

"Lord Gohda already tried reasoning with him, along with the authorities, but he persisted" said the man.

After another moment of silence, I felt kind of disappointed of concluding situations by myself. It was really useful to question the other side of the situation, but why do I still feel depressed?

The stranger look down at me, then asked, "Do you have anyone to stay with?" I could tell that this man was concerned about me. I answered simply, "No."

He thought for a moment, leaving me curious on what he was thinking about. Does he have an idea for me or something? "Tell you what, I can bring you in my village and become my pupil."

Become his pupil? Where was he getting at? I thought of his offer for a moment, thinking of what occupation that he had. Well, considering the fact that we didn't hear him coming to the house, and his type of fighting skills, I concluded that the stranger must be a shinobi. Perhaps becoming one wouldn't be such a bad idea. I always like to fight and spar in my free time. Glancing up at the shinobi, I gave a nod with agreement as I answered, "Sure, why not?"

The man smiled and reached out his hand to mine. I reached out my hand as well, grasping his hand shake on it as he said, "Alright. My name is Azuma Shiunsai, by the way." I nodded and introduced myself as well, "I'm Tatsukichi."

Since this man displayed himself as a benign, humble person, I supposed that for now on, I have to call him Shiunsai-sama considering the fact he is officially my sensei. Everything seemed to change so fast, which made me think about my situation even deeper. Perhaps this was fate? I was uncertain to believe if it could even be fate, but if it is, then so be it.

During our travel to Shiunsai-sama's village, I realized it was not too far from my previous residence; his village was located at the end of the thick forest in the mountain side.

We reached a wooden gate that was guarded by a middle-age man, wearing a light armor and dark-blue attire. The guard's attention focused on Shiunai's arrival, immediately opening the gate for us to enter. As soon as we did, I heard the gate close behind us, bringing my attention towards the scenery of the village. "Welcome to the Hidden Azuma Village. This is where you will be living for now." Shiunsai-sama introduced as we continue walking.

I observed the prodigious surroundings, noticing the village consisted of small houses made of sturdy wood spread from the entrance and scattered till they reached the semi-high hill. From a distance, I noticed above that hill was a wide house with an entrance that appeared to be a dojo of some sort. On the right side of that building was a medium size house, assuming that part of the building was served for other different purposes.

From my left side, the scenery was half-based of an environmental surrounding, except the area contained a few up-hills of different arenas that appeared to be the training grounds. The first level consists of a few target signs and small trees scattered around the semi-medium field. The second level was a bit higher, containing three platforms displayed as rising blocks, walls, and other obstacles. I assumed that is one of the areas that I will be training at.

Turning to my right side, the scenery had even more environmental surroundings; a large waterfall over a river, and a wooden-built bridge leading towards a bamboo forest.

[11 Years Later]

It's been many years since I lost my father, but for some reason, it's hard to believe that the killer of my father is now my sensei. Although half of me could not forgive Shiunsai-sama for killing my father, the other half of me wanted to cooperate with him. I'm not really certain of my reasons, but I assumed that it was my instincts that told me to half-heartedly forgive him.

Currently, my age is now 16 and comparing to the past, I've became stronger. Master Shiunsai notes that I'm excellent and more adapted with taijutsu (hand-combat) when facing enemies. Even though I was also skilled in kenjutsu, my master advised me to only use that fighting skill against worthy and challenging opponents. It did not really matter to me since I am use to using my hands and feet; they were already strong enough, not that I'm bragging or anything…

He also commented that I had great mental control, which was the second half of my training. He points out that mental control is one of the most important keys of being a shinobi, warning that if I have difficulty with controlling my emotions, it would just make not only my self esteem weak, but every other system that keeps me being a shinobi.

After passing the final test, my master totaled the duration of the whole course to 12 minutes. Out of the past generations of the Azuma Clan, Master commented that I beat the record, which made me half proud of myself. The other half goes to my sensei since he was the one who trained me in the first place, so my whole thanks and gratitude was towards him. I met him behind the waterfalls, which was the ending point of my course.

My Master handed to me a red scroll with the Azuma Crest embedded around the sash that was tied around it. "Congratulations, you are now officially an Azuma Ninja. Your name will be now known as Tatsumaru."

.:::Preview:::.

_"Don't tell us that you're going to bring him with us too!"_

_"Are you questioning my judgment?"_

_"Supervise him and make sure he becomes successful in his training. Do you understand?"_

_"WAAAH! WAAAH! WAAAAH-!"_

_"Yes, Shiunsai-sama."_

_"Baka!"_


	2. Chikara Chronicles

Live by Honor, Kill by Stealth (Birth of Stealth Assassins)

Scroll 2: Chikara Chronicles

.:::Shiunsai's POV:::.

It was two years since I dubbed Tatsumaru to officially become an Azuma shinobi. It wasn't that difficult to train him, and I had a feeling that it shouldn't been hard for him to learn from me. He was my first and only favorite student I had in Azuma Shiunobi-ryu Ninjutsu (Azuma School of Ninjutsu). So far, Tatsumaru has been doing a swell job in his missions, fulfilling every single one of them.

Currently, several Azuma shinobi and I were assigned by Lord Gohda to track down and assassinate a certain samurai that was abusing his power. We headed towards the last location where our target was last spotted – the samurai's house - hoping we would find him still there. Luckily, we were able to, but he put up a good fight against us until one of my allies caught our target off guard by pinning him on the ground. Once my allies hold the samurai still, I took the opportunity to finish him off.

Once they finished, the Azuma shinobi team began rushing out of the samurai's house till they heard a sound from another room in the corridors. Silently, they sneaked to the front of the door till they opened it, revealing a woman holding a baby, that appeared barely a month year old, and a man holding a sword defensively. They were terrified, sad, and angry at the same time.

"How dare you kill my master-!" The man began speaking, but I interrupt his statement by stabbing only a few inches on his shoulder, slashing horizontally as blood splashed in the air from his open wound. The woman shrieked in fear, but I silenced her by slitting her throat, causing her to fall on the ground, but shockingly, and not letting go of the baby cradled in her arms. What astonished me was that even after death, the mother of the child was embracing him filled with love and protection.

One of my teammates was about to silence the baby as he raised his dagger aiming towards him. I quickly moved my hand in front of his way, motioning him to yield before he could lower his blade. As I stare down at the baby boy, my vision began to play games with me as an image of Tatsumaru was in place. After a moment of silence, the boys thought a bit more on why I stopped them from killing the baby.

Once they realized what I was thinking, I began to hear displeasing groans as one of them stated, "Don't tell us that you're going to bring him with us too! He already appears weak and unstable to become one of us!" The others nodded with agreement.

I only shook my head, giving them a harsh glare and asked, "Are you questioning my judgment?"

This is why I was chosen as a potential Head Master…No; this is why I am the Head Master of the Azuma Clan. Unlike the others, I have a discerning judgment to chose who is worthy of becoming an Azuma shinobi, seeing the unique qualities of someone even weaker than a measly dirt; you can say that I have a sixth sense. The others will just disparage and dismiss people by cliché appearance and characteristics.

I looked down at the boy, not being sure of what to call him yet, but I decided that I will raise him as if he was my own son.

[Back at the Azuma Village]

.:::In the Afternoon:::.

"WAAAH! WAAAH!" The baby boy wailed as he waved his arms frantically in the air.

Parenting was even more difficult than I thought it would be. I sometimes wonder how the females deal with this kind of struggling situations very lightly. I was sitting on the cushion, studying on the current affairs that were going on in the Gohda country; There were no signs of threats from neighboring countries. Lord Gohda was having an important meeting with the counselors on how to improve their defensive system for any possible attacks at the castle. The martial groups are researching on any new development on their weapons by traveling to different part of the lands…

"WAAAH! WAAAH! WAAAAAH~!" The baby boy screamed once more.

I sighed heavily, thinking that it is very hard to concentrate on my studies and supervising the baby at the same time. This was very troublesome…Hearing a knock from the sliding door, I then accepted permission, "Come in."

Tatsumaru entered with a woven basket full with fishes and a bag stuffed with vegetables, stating, "I finished gathering the food for dinner." Giving a nod of acknowledgement, I replied with my gaze staying on the papers, "Very good. Bring them inside the kitchen for the chef to take care of the rest, please?" Hearing Tatsumaru's footsteps walking to the corridor, I continued reading the papers, and attempting to ignore the baby's cries.

Once Tatsumaru returns to the main room, I glanced at him and began, "I have another mission for you." He sat down at the cushion right in front of mines, hearing out what mission that I will assign him.

I placed the papers down and glanced at the baby, picking him up and hand him to Tatsumaru as I stated straight forward, "Take care of this baby and train him once he reach at an appropriate age. Supervise him and make sure he becomes successful in his training. Do you understand?" At first, I became worried from the look of his face that was filled with uncertainty.

Seeing him rethinking about it, Tatsumaru sighed heavily in defeat, seeing he had no choice. "Yes, Shiunsai-sama." He began leaving with the baby in his arms, and finally the baby calmed down. A small smile curved from my mouth, thinking they will get along just fine, like brothers…

"Um, shouldn't we give this baby a name since he is staying with us?" Tatsumaru asked me, holding the baby carefully. I pondered for a moment, trying to think of a good name for the baby. I gave a slight nod, then concluded, "His name will be…Chikara."

.:::Tatsumaru's POV:::.

[1 Year Later…]

I was lying down in bed at the middle of the night, hearing the cries from the baby boy that Shiunsai-sama assigned me to take care of. It's been a year since I raised Chikara and it has been a pain in the butt...I mean, it's already bad enough that he cries 24/7, but what makes matters worse is that he enjoys making a huge mess all over the place. I have to change his diapers at least every 2 hours, 5 hours tops.

Earlier, Chikara was able to say his first word, and ironically, he got it from me: "Baka!"

If Master Shiunsai hears that word coming out from the baby's mouth, then I will be busted…Hopefully I can prevent him from saying bad words…

[2 Years Later…]

It has been 2 years since Shiunsai-sama bring in this little brat. Chikara is able to say some words, and luckily it's not curse words. Most of the time, it seems like he mumbles more than he can speak, and I don't even know if he could understand what he even saying.

Right now, I was practicing my aim throwing, using shuriken and kunai to targets attach to three signs, six trees, five bushes, and ten dummies. Holding four shuriken in-between my fingers with my left hand and 4 kunai in my right hand, I closed my eyes for a moment, recalling in my mind which angle that I'm going to throw towards certain targets. I also had to focus on the amount of force I need to use to reach that certain distance.

The baby was at the sidelines, watching me from a safe spot, but I wasn't aware about the fact that he scurried away.

Opening my eyes, I threw two shuriken at one at the bushes and another at a sign. Next, I aimed other two shuriken towards the sign and the dummy, but my eyes now caught a sight of the baby reaching near the sign. Luckily the sign stood 3 feet tall and the shuriken was hit at the center of the target.

My focus was now at the three bushes, aiming my three kunai at them, but Chikara was around that area as well! Suddenly, he passed all three of them before he could get hurt, or maybe even worse…I pulled out a few more shuriken and decided to aim somewhere that the baby wasn't crawling at…Like that other bush for instance.

Right when I throw my last kunai in my hand, I noticed the baby already reached there! The kunai barely missed the baby by a centimeter, which made me sigh in relief.

I would stop, but Master Shiunsai wanted me to finish my training by the end of the afternoon. I kept throwing my weapons at the remaining targets left, and although the baby appeared nearby some of them, he was able to be safe in the end. I stood and panted heavily not only from the energy I used to hit all targets, but most importantly from the stress that I almost killed that baby!

Starring down at Chikara, he walked up to me with a huge, innocent smile on his face as he applauded, "Yay, Tatsu!" Yeah, the baby gave me a nickname. Thinking twice about the situation, I began looking at it in a different perspective; this was almost like dodge training for Chikara. Even so, he was still a troublemaker…

.:::Chikara's POV:::.

[3 Years Later]

Although I'm already 6 years old, I didn't have any idea on whom or where my parents were. Even so, that didn't bother me because the people who raised me were already like a family to me.

For instance, Azuma Shiunsai always looked out for me like a father and Tatsumaru has been overprotective like a brother. Speaking of Tatsumaru, he actually got me into training to become an Azuma shinobi since last year.

Every day, I always watch him sparring against some of the other shinobi in the village, and he inspired me to become one someday…This desire to emulate Tatsumaru was strong, even though I had a scrawny body. A lot of people in the village don't believe that I'll surpass Tatsumaru just because I was weak not only physically, but mentally as well.

Master Shiunsai is the only one that thinks I can…That's why he gave me the name, Chikara. I personally like it because despite my lack of strength and control, I have the determination that I will become stronger.

Early in the morning, I was holding a katana in my hand, spinning the blade in a helicopter motion, and swinging it in the air as if I was attacking my enemy. I wasn't aware from the fact that someone was staring at me from a distance until he walked closer. I glanced at the person who revealed his presence, realizing that it was Master Shiunsai.

Why is he carrying packed bags? Was he planning to go somewhere?

Shiunsai-sama began speaking as if he read my mind, "I'm going to be traveling to Kyoto for a week. I already informed Tatsumaru about this, so please behave while I'm gone?" I was not certain of the Master's motives, but I did not bother to figure out. I gave a nod as he reached out his hand and ruffled my hair a bit before walking away. Once his figure disappeared from a distance, I turn back and swung the blade of the katana downward, thinking, _'While Master is away, perhaps I should train more! By the time he comes back, I'll be even stronger! He'll be very impressed!'_

Picturing it now, I can imagine the villagers giving me adulation of becoming the most successful shinobi in the Azuma Clan; they'll worship me like a God! I swing the sword in the air once more, but reacted completely shocked as Tatsumaru stood right before me; the tip of the sword barely reached his neck. "What are you doing in the middle of the morning, Chikara?" Tatsumaru begins to ask with a curious tone. I nearly jumped off balance, landing on my bottom from his sudden appearance. I scratched the back of my head with embarrassment, replying nervously, "Um…training?" As I looked up at him, I noticed a smile curved upon his face, reaching his hand out for me to grab it. Accepting my brother's assistance, I grabbed his hand, allowing him to pull me up so I can stand on my feet. He let go of my hands as he stated, "How very thoughtful…You're that serious about becoming a shinobi?"

I gave an eager nod in reply, not bothering to say yes because it was quite obvious that I wanted to be just like Tatsumaru.

He positioned himself in a defensive stance, and said, "Ready whenever you are then…" I smirked slightly and posed in my offensive stance; my katana hid behind my back along with my other hand positioned right in front of me.

"Right!" I exclaimed, taking a step and began to advanced towards my sensei without holding back.

.:::Preview:::.

_"Just stay here. If any stranger comes in, run away as fast as you can. Okay, honey?"_

_"Well, what do ya' know? A stash was hidden here all this time…"_

_". . . What is your name?"_

_"I'm Omon . . ."_

_"If you really want to follow me, make sure your decision is absolute. Do you understand?"_

_"Since you're staying with me, I'll be teaching you to become an Azuma shinobi for safety purposes."_


	3. Omon Chronicles

Live By Honor, Kill By Stealth (Birth of Stealth Assassins)

Scroll 3: Omon Chronicles

_Flames, Smoke, Burnt Corpses, A Deserted Village in Ruins . . ._

"Why did it have to be at my home town? Why can't the ambush occur at someone else's village? Out of the thousands that died, why am I the only one still alive? I cannot recall on how this predicament started, but the only thing that I could remember was his face . . . That bloodcurdling look in that man's auburn glare that resembles a sadistic demon drooling at its prey. The last time I have encountered the attacker was back at my house . . ."

.:::Omon's POV:::.

"Why am I in the closet, mommy?" I asked with curiosity as my mother placed me into the wooden closet. All that came out from her mouth was a shush, motioning me to stay quiet. Without question, I obeyed her and kept my mouth zipped as she began explaining,

"Just stay here. If any stranger comes in, run away as fast as you can. Okay, honey?" She assured me in a hushed voice.

I was a simple-minded child that time, and I couldn't understand what was going on. All I knew that it was a concise way of saying 'Good-bye-and-I-love-you'; I had a bad feeling that I will not be able to see her again. Before my mom could close the door, I wrapped my small arms around her for a quick, yet warm embrace before anything bad happened. This was the last time I was able to feel mom's loving arms, I know it . . .

Hearing a bang in the door, I felt mom's arms slipping away from me, sliding the wooden door shut so I can stay safe. All that I can see was pitch black, except the dim light shining from the edge of the closet door. A few moments later, everything was silent . . .

BOOM!

The door that leaded to the room where mom was slammed open, hearing a raspy, sinister voice talking to her. She talked back in a calm tone, but I could sense the shakiness that displays being afraid. Out of curiosity, I slid the door open, only for my eyes to peek out to see what was going on.

My onyx-round eyes widened of the sight of my mother being stabbed in-between her rib-cage, with a pale hand and sharp finger-nails ripping right through her. I knelt still behind the closet, watching the blood splatter upon the door and on my cheeks.

The man slipped his hand out of my mother's wound, licking the blood off of his finger tips with satisfaction. Licking his lips with glee, he looks down at my mother's body lying upon the ground, kneeling down and sucked more blood from her wound. All that I could do was tremble behind the closet door, watching with horror of the attacker hovering above the woman that took care of me.

A few beads of sweat stroll down my temples as I prevented myself to make any whimpering sounds out of fright. Scooting myself half-hysterically backwards, my back hit the wall, leaving a faint thump noise echoing the room.

The attacker jerked up his head, looking towards to the source of the sound, slowly standing upon his feet. Hearing footsteps walking towards my direction, all I could do was shiver in place, looking up at the person opening the wooden door. His piercing auburn eyes stared down to mines, curving a spine-chilling, crooked smirk at me.

"Well, what do ya' know? A stash was hidden here all this time…" He spoken as he reached out for my collar, pulling me up till my terrified face met his.

Observing me for a moment, he continued with a smug tone, "I could have sworn I've caught a stench of a youngling's blood, and it turned out that I was right; you were here all along." Mom didn't told me what I should do when the stranger caught me before I had the opportunity to escape, so I decided to follow what my dad always told me; follow my instincts.

I swing my legs toward the stranger till it kicked his bare chest, giving all of my body-strength to my foot. I knew he had to drop me since he was wincing in pain, and as soon as he did, I heard my mother's voice murmuring to me, "Run, Omon! Run!" It was a relief of hearing her voice once more before I went off; at least mother told me what to do after that. Luckily the man was caught off guard from the pain he received from that kick, I was already down-stairs by the time he regained himself.

I continued rushing out of the house, seeing everything burning before my eyes. One of the neighbors was walking down the streets, burning from the flames that surrounded his body. I slowly stepped back, wondering where else I should go. The only thing that kept ringing on my mind was, 'Run!' I glanced towards the direction that leads to the exit of the burning village, rushing with all my might, not daring to look back till I was far away from the attacker.

Once I reached a hill, I decided to see how far I was from home. All I could see was the village that I lived in was burning down. A few more survivors were running away from the village and into the forest that resides around the borders. My sight then focused on the attacker that killed my mother that was advancing towards me.

I glanced away and ran inside the forest along with the other villagers that escaped. There were a few men wearing black ninja outfits that followed our trail. One by one, I heard the clinging sound of swords and knives clashing to one another from different angles.

Along the way, I hear the cries of agony and death that consumed them all, but I continued running so they would not reach me. I focused on running away from them, although I aimlessly done so . . . And it was a bad idea too because I didn't notice the upcoming down-hill slope that I was reaching to. Because of my careless running, I tripped on a rock and began to feel my limp body rolling down the dirt, rocky hill till my head crashed into a tree, losing consciousness. . .

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

.:::3rd Person POV:::.

A lone traveler walked through the grassy fields, to gain influencing the Togakure-ryu techniques. He wore a straw hat, hiding his semi-grey hair, yet reveals his beard reaching to his chest. Appearing around the age of his 60s, he wore a medium-yellow colored naga-juban (under kimono) with a matching montsuki haori (long jacket), dark violet umanori hakama (trousers), white tabi (divided toe socks), and sandals.

Reaching towards the forest, he noticed a faintly, strange aura straight ahead his direction. It was somewhat familiar, but he cannot recall recognizing who it is from.

At the riverbed, the traveler spotted an young girl with a minor bruise upon her head, looking up the path of the hill and seen some of the tree branches broken severely with dirt trail scattered as if a tornado has hit the area. Did that girl just fall down from that hill up there?

She was wearing a small red kimono with a maroon collar and matching obi, having her raven-colored hair tied to a small pony-tail. Observing the girl's surroundings, he decided to investigate as he walked up the hill to see which direction she came from; using his strength on the cane he was holding to hike up.

Once the curious man reached the top of the hill, he noticed the path that young girl made, seeing another set of footprints from a few feet away, stopping before it reached the hill. All that the old man can conclude was that someone was chasing after this girl, but whom? What did they want from her? And where did she come from?

Seeing smoke rising a few yards away, the old man jumped up a tree branch to reach the highest point of the tree. There, he spotted a birds-eye view of a village burning into flames. "There must have been an ambush…" The old man noted to himself, knowing it was part of the war that was occurring.

Jumping down the tree, he landed on his feet and rushed down the hill to see if the girl was still there. He found her starring at the dead corpse floating down the currents of the river bank. The old man widen his eyes with shock as he rushed to the girls back and covered her eyes, murmuring with caution, "Don't look!" The young girl persistently grabbed the man's hand and pushed it away from her, glancing up and exclaimed, "It doesn't bother me, okay?"

"Whoa! Calm down, miss…I'm not going to hurt you!" The old man waved his hands reassuringly in the air to show peace. "Why are you all alone here?"

" . . ."

"Where are your parents? . . . Aren't they around somewhere?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure specifically…"

"Did you just come from that village?"

"…I think so."

". . . What is your name?"

"I'm Omon." The young girl answered with hesitation. Thinking about what he figured out from his investigation so far, he can recall that the village was burning not too far from here, the girl's tracks led to this tree, followed by someone else's footsteps till she end up unconscious with a bruise on her head. There was only one thing that he can conclude from this predicament. 'She has amnesia…' the old man thought to himself. After a moment of silence, the young girl named Omon spoke out straight-forward, "You ask too much questions. Why is that?" The old man knelt down in front of her and explained, "I'm just concerned of what happened to you is all…Do you have any place to go?" Omon just stared at him blankly, tilting her head with confusion, not even knowing where she lived.

This was such a predicament for her…and for the old man. But what should he do? Thinking twice about this, he began to consider about taking her under his wing as a student. But on the other hand, the old man begins to underestimate this girl…What if she can't bare the vigorous training as a shinobi? He only knows how to train male shinobi, not having the knowledge of teaching the path of a kunoichi. Just as he was about to give in, the old man began to turn away from the girl till he felt her small hand grabbing his sleeve. Omon gave him the 'don't-leave-me' look, wanting to follow him. Since she had no place to go, the old man made his final decision. He smiled and corroborate, "If you really want to follow me, make sure your decision is absolute. Do you understand?"

Her eyes brighten a bit as she wrapped his arms around him, and then paused as she began to ask, "Um, what is your name, mister?"

"Call me Master Shiunsai…"

.:::Shiunsai's POV:::.

I carried the girl upon my back as we began our departure from Kyoto. It will take a while for us to reach to our destination, so I did my best to entertain the girl during our travel back to the Hidden Azuma Village. Reaching towards the opening of the forest,

I walked through the dirt path and noticed a small shed nearby with smoke coming out from the chimney. "Would you like to eat something?" I asked Omon, turning my gaze slightly to her. The small toddler gave a nod, saying yes.

I placed her on the wooden bench in front of the small shed, sitting next to her as well while a young waitress walked out of the shed. She wore a yellow yukata with an apron tied in front of her.

"Hello there, Mister. What would you like to order?" She asked kindly, followed by a bow to display a polite greeting to me.

"I would like 4 sticks of dango and 2 onigiri, please?" I requested, looking at Omon to see if she is alright with it. The young, four year old girl gave a slight nod to show that she's satisfied with the order. The waitress smiled and replied, "Coming right up. Please wait for a moment?"

As the waitress walked back inside the shed, Omon noticed a yellow butterfly passing by her. With curiosity, Omon began following it, reaching both of her hands out to grab it, but the butterfly flew higher in the sky and out of sight. I chuckled slightly as I watched the silly, yet innocent scene.

Hearing the waitress coming back, she had our order ready for us, wrapped in a paper and organized properly. I took out my pouch and gave her the amount of yen that the order cost.

"Keep the change." I told her with a sincere smile, placing Omon on my back once more as we began leaving. The young girl waved at the waitress 'good-bye' and she did the same.

I took out an onigiri and hand it to Omon, making sure I was careful at the same time since I was carrying her. She took a bite from her food, smiling with delight from how tasty it was. I looked forward and noticed that we were a few yards away from the mountains already.

.::: Preview :::.

_"Hello there, my name is Tatsumaru. What's yours?"_

_"Um…I'm Omon. N-Nice to meet you…"_

_"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"_

_"Don't worry; I'll protect you no matter what…"_

_"What does he have that I don't?"_


	4. Good Or Bad First Impression?

Live by Honor, Kill by Stealth (Birth of Stealth Assassins)

LBH/KBS [Scroll 4: Good Or Bad First Impression?]

.::: Omon's POV:::.

As soon as Shiunsai-sama and I reached to the mountains, we hiked over the paths, which took us a while to reach to the top. It was a bit foggy outside, but it didn't bother us. Shiunsai-sama lend me his extra jacket since it was kind of cold, wrapping it around my shoulders. I glanced at him with a smile to show my thanks, continuing our hike till we spotted the stairs that leaded to the entrance of the Hidden Azuma Village.

As we walked up the stairs we were greeted by the villagers as they bow their heads to Shiunsai-sama. Was he really popular and important to them? He must be in a high class or something to gain that much respect…

Observing on the activities that were going on in my surroundings, I noticed a family that consists of a man, with his wife, and their son walking through the side, hand in hand. "Mommy, can I get some dumplings?" The child begged as he tugged his mother's sleeve. "Of course, dear," She replied with a smile as the father rubbed on his son's head playfully.

I glanced at the other side and noticed a couple walking side by side. The teen girl wrapped her arms around the man scratching the back of his head sheepishly. I blushed slightly from the scene, focusing my gaze straight forward and continued head on to Master Shiunsai's house. It was bigger than the other villager's house. Could this mean that he is the leader of the Azuma Clan? It must be…

Before I entered the large house, two boys in their teen age, was staring from the edge of the door from another house next to Shiunsai-sama. Confusion was written all over their face when I entered with Shiunsai-sama, closing the door behind me.

.:::In Master Shiunsai's House:::.

The main room resembled like a huge dojo, but there was a door leading to the corridors to different rooms. I was astonished already to assume that Shiunsai-sama must be a rich noble or something…

Shiunsai-sama began giving me the tour of the main building of the village, directing me to the first room we entered in, the dojo. In the middle, there was a small desk with a few scrolls on top and a midnight blue colored cushion behind, having me assume that is where he study when he is alone.

My gaze began to focus on two doors across the entrance, wondering where they lead to. Shiunsai-sama then stated as if he read my mind, "The door on the middle leads to my room, and the other is where we store the clan's equipment and weapons."

Walking the entrance to the corridor on the left, he pointed out the location of certain rooms, like the kitchen was at the first door, the second, third, and fourth door to the guest rooms, and the sliding door, at the end, leads to the outside.

We walked back to the main dojo room, motioning me to sit on the cushion behind his table. It seemed like he has something more to tell me, so I obeyed. Once I sat on the cushion, Shiunsai-sama began, "I would like you to have this time to get use to the village that you will be staying in for now on. I'll send in your tour guides now." And with that said, he turned his attention to a rope that automatically dropped from the ceiling, pulling it as a bell from outside began to ring.

.:::Tatsumaru's POV:::.

Standing in front of the porch of our house next to Shiunsai -sama's house, Chikara and I spotted a girl walking into our Master's house. So, he found another orphan to train? I chuckled silently to myself about the thought, thinking that he's becoming too sympathetic for a girl to join the Azuma Clan. Hopefully, she wouldn't be a pain in the butt like Chikara was when I took care of him.

Speaking of Chikara, I noticed a light pink blush glowing upon his cheeks, and my chuckling grown louder from his reaction of noticing the new girl. Leaning to his ears, I whispered slyly, "Pretty cute, isn't she?" He wailed from the sudden question that I asked him, backing up with a dumbfounded look on his face. I nearly cracked up on how priceless his face looked when he reacted like that.

Shaking his head frantically, Chikara crossed his arms like an 'X', defending himself, "N-No! It's just allergies! That's all…" He rubbed his nose in a fake way, only for me to give him the disbelief look.

"Denial," I bluntly stated with my arms crossed in front of my chest. "Don't tell me this is love at first sight~" I cooed jokingly at Chikara as his face began to turn red like a tomato. This look was even more priceless than the last one!

I attempted to hold my laughter as he turn around stubbornly, crossing his arms as he protest, "W-Why would I fall in love? It only displays weakness and a true shinobi shouldn't express emotions, right Tatsu-san?" Chikara glanced right at me, attempting to show that he's tough and all that jazz.

I chuckled slightly from his loyal discipline, always being a teacher's pet. I reached my hand toward his silver hair and ruffled it teasingly and replied, "That's right, Chikara."

As soon as Chikara and I heard the bell ringing, we exchanged glances at each other, knowing that Shiunsai-sama was calling us to his house. "C'mon, let's go." I instructed as I began leading the way. "Right," Chikara agreed as he followed along. As soon as we reached towards the entrance of Master Shiunsai's house, we slid the door open to find out Master with the new girl.

.::: Omon's POV:::.

Once Shiunsai-sama pulled the string, a few moments later, two boys entered the room. I realized that they were the same boys from next door that saw me coming here. Were they my tour guides?

I observed the eldest boy, wearing a white tank-top that revealed his muscular body, displaying that he was very athletic and strong. He had the same raven-colored hair as I did, except that his hair was tied loosely till it reaches down the shoulder-blades. He wore dark-green shorts with bandages wrapped around his leg and arms, and sandals. I thought he looked very handsome with the strong, mature look in his cool onyx-colored eyes.

As for the second boy, I noticed that he seemed younger than the eldest, even though he was a few years older than me, but around my age nevertheless. I found it quite weird, yet unique about the fact he had silver hair; I always thought that old people only had that hair color. Obviously his skin was fair and had no wrinkles. He also had grey-colored eyes, but his eyes seemed more narrowed than the eldest boy. He wore a green yakama that matches his top, obi, and collar, and his sleeve reached down to his wrist. Although his body appears scrawny, his appearance can look a bit deceiving considering the fact that his clothes are somewhat baggy.

"Boys, this girl will be staying with us for now on. Please show her around the village and be hospital gentlemen during her stay." Shiunsai - sama instructed them as he gently motioned me to walk up to them. I looked at my new Master hesitantly, and then glanced back at the boys with a timid look on my face.

Oh man, this was so embarrassing! I slowly walked up to the boys, who were smiling warmly at me. The one that got my attention the most was the eldest boy. He grabbed my hand gently so he could lead me out of the house, which causes me to blush a lot; I haven't even realized the other boy was looking at him with envy.

"Hello there, my name is Tatsumaru. What's yours?" The eldest finally spoke with his semi-deep voice. It sounded like he already reached puberty, even though it was too early for me to understand, but what can I say, I'm a big girl growing up!

I smiled nervously and replied with a shy tone, "Um…I'm Omon. N-Nice to meet you…"

The silver-hair boy walked up to my side and greeted politely, "Well, my name is Chikara. I think you're going to like it here." I glanced at him and gave a simple nod, hoping that he was right. Somehow, I have my doubts, but just looking at Tatsumaru makes things worthwhile to me.

As we began walking through the village, I've observed the place as Tatsumaru explained the locations. Although this place was somewhat small, I began to think that it was good in some ways. I personally thought the place looks nice; I'm beginning to think that what Chikara said to me earlier was true.

I mean, the village have its own farm garden, with the west side of the village being a part of our training area, welcoming villagers living in small houses, a river with a waterfall nearby and a bridge leading towards a small bamboo forest. It doesn't seem much to others, but to me, I think this place was great. They even have a hot spring near the student house! Can this get any better?

As we reached back to the Student House that was near the Master's house, we noticed a few teenage boys playing in front of the yard with a ball, passing the ball by kicking it up in the air slightly with their ankles. I got interested so I subconsciously ran towards the group, not paying attention to Tatsumaru and Chikara calling me from the background. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, but they knew what kind of people those kids were, and they were bad news…

"Hey! Hey guys!" I called out to them as they stopped kicking the ball. I ran towards them and asked with a gullible tone, "Can I play with you guys? That looks fun!" The boys stared at me for a moment as if was crazy, then they begin to laugh like mad. My smile turned into a frown, staring at them with confusion as I asked, "What is so funny?"

As they continued laughing, one of the boys exclaimed in-between their fit, "Y-You, play with us? You got to be kidding me!" Laughing harder, the other one stated, "This is a no-girls-allowed-game! Got it memorized, girly?" He poked my forehead so hard, that he made me catch off guard of my balance and fall on the ground. As they continued laughing, something perked up inside of me; an urge in my stomach was telling my instincts to attack them.

I narrowed my eyes and stand up straight, yelling with anger, "Who are you calling girly?" I rolled up my sleeves and focused all of my body strength as I pulled back my arm, clenching my fingers into a fist and punched the guy who called me 'girly'. The other guys starred with shock as I pounced on him, delivering more punches towards his face. Although my actions were subconscious, this urge that I never felt before became dangerous towards the people around me, which I was not aware of at the moment.

As soon as they recovered from their astonished reaction, they narrowed their eyes as one of them exclaimed, "Hey, get off of him you brat!" I felt someone grabbing my shoulder, causing me to turn around and saw an upcoming fist towards my cheek.

Before it touched me, I spotted Tatsumaru appeared behind the boy right before my eyes, grabbing arm before the fist could reach a centimeter. "Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

I widen my eyes with disbelief, wondering how he got here so fast. "Tatsumaru…" I muttered silently to myself as he pushed the boy away from me. I was caught in the moment that I almost forgot to keep track of the boy that I pinned to the ground. He used this distraction as an opportunity to get back at me by pushing me off of him and pinning me to the ground this time.

"Omon!" Tatsumaru exclaimed with concern as he was about to rush to me until two of the bastard's friends got in his way.

"This will teach you not to mess with me!" the boy, that I attacked, yelled as one of his hands grabbed my throat while the other punched my face. I felt the impact of his fist repeatedly punch me as I wince in agony, attempting to pull his grip away from my neck, but he was too strong.

Tears rolled down from my eyes; all this pain I've felt hurts so much, at that moment, I wished that I could just died in this spot. I waited for the next punch, but I felt his grip on me began to loosen, wondering what stopped him from attacking me. I looked up and notice that Chikara was standing above me, clenching the boy's neck with his hands.

His silver bangs were covering his eyes, I couldn't tell what he was feeling right now, but I could sense the anger flowing inside of him like hot-tempered bees buzzing like mad. As he threw the boy away like a sack of rice, Chikara reached for my hand and pulled me up so I could be standing.

"Stay here, Omon," Chikara muttered in a serious tone. I looked up at him with amusement and shock at the same time as he concluded with determination, "Don't worry, I'll protect you no matter what…"

I stayed silent with no reply, only to watch Tatsumaru debunk some sense into the guys that picked on me. Once he delivered his last punch, Tatsumaru stood over them and threatened, "Hopefully, this will teach you a lesson…If not, perhaps informing both your parents and Shiunsai-sama about this predicament would be the best solution."

The minor, injured boys stepped back a bit, and then decided to give up and walk away from us. My arms began to tremble from what just happened, having no idea that this would happen. I let go of Chikara's hand and ran away from him and Tatsumaru, wanting to be alone for a bit.

[Dinner Time]

Shiunsai-sama, Chikara, Tatsumaru, and I were sitting in front of the tables eating oyako donburi (a chicken and egg dish served over rice). Most of the time, I was just sitting there, playing with my food using my pair of chop-sticks. I took only three bites from my dish, but something has been bugging me from the back of my mind.

I haven't noticed the concern look from Tatsumaru's face while I was poking my egg with the tip of the chop-stick. Standing up from my cushion, I began speaking, "Um, may I be excused? I'm kind of tired…" Shiunsai-sama gave me a slight nod, accepting my request as I walked out of the dining room. Reaching to the porch, I glanced at the area where that predicament from earlier occurred, but I shook the memory off of my mind since it was bothering me still. I entered the house next to Master Shiunsai's, walking to the room where Chikara showed me from earlier.

After an hour of lying on my futon bed of starring at the ceiling, I heard a knock from the door, seeing the outline of Tatsumaru's shadow lurking from the screens of the shoji door. "Omon, are you okay? Is there something bothering you?"

I hid in the covers, not wanting to be bothered and replied, "I'm fine…Please, go away?"

Personally, I was not ready to face anyone, not even myself. What happened earlier displayed a different side of me, Chikara, and Tatsumaru. How can I even face the guys who show kindness to me when my first impression turned out to be bad?

Hearing the slide door open, I have the feeling that he wouldn't leave until I told him. "C'mon. You know, you can tell me anything." After thinking about it, I slowly peeked my head out of the covers, then explained, "…I apologize for starting a fit with the boys. I didn't know what came over me, but I just hate it when people think of me being helpless and weak." I felt this emotion once, but I couldn't recall when and what for.

Tatsumaru stayed silent for a while, and then assured, "Don't be sorry. It's not even your fault in the first place." His expression became stern as he continued, "But next time, make sure you give a well-manner approach the next time you encounter someone. I don't want you to get into any trouble like that."

This made me felt even worse of myself. I trembled, looking down with guilt as I stuttered, "I-I didn't mean to…" I bet Tatsumaru only sees me as a burden, not wanting my presence for he will feel bothered. He hates me…I know it! I was about to cry until I felt the strong arms of Tatsumaru embracing my small body.

"You got me scared for a moment. Just be careful next time, alright?" He spoke softly with his bangs covering his eyes.

Was he really this concern for me? The thought of it made me blush embarrassingly, feeling somewhat relieve that he doesn't notice since he's too busy embracing me. I hugged him in return to show my gratitude, feeling happy that he was looking out for me.

As I opened my eyes slightly, I noticed another shadow peering from the screen, resembling to Chikara."I don't get it…What does he have that I don't?" A voice asked rhetorically as the figure stormed off. I could've sworn but overhear the voice from the corridor, wondering why the person was so upset. Was that really Chikara? The voice sounded like him…

.:::Preview:::.

_"This is…my weapon?"_

_"One day, I'm going to marry you under the cherry blossom tree! And that's a promise!"_

_"Welcome to my castle, I'm Gohda Matsunoshin. It's a pleasure to meet you." _

_"Aww, aren't you the cutest child I've ever seen~!"_

_"I'm looking forward to work with you in the future, Lord Gohda."_


End file.
